Guacamole goes great with nachos, pita chips, trisket, whatever you can scare up really–Chris Ciolli
In case you don’t follow my yammerings about writing, traveling and cooking on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, I’ve just gotten back from a 10-day trip in Puerto Rico during which I ate avocado in some form nearly every day…and I’m still obsessed with that luscious green fruit.
Even though here in Barcelona the avocados don’t measure up. Not even close, and I mean that literally. All of the avocados I bought during my awesome island vacation were bigger than my fist, massive, smooth-skinned fruits with an abundance of creamy lime flesh and a sierra-brown pit the size of a small plum. Here in Spain, avocados are smaller, wrinkly and too often riddled with strange brown spots surrounding the pit.
The Dominican avocados I bought in the supermarket in San Juan were huge. –Chris Ciolli
But even less-than-amazing avocados make pretty good guacamole, and I’ve been told I make it well, so here’s my take on one of Mexico’s best known sauces.
Fiery Guacamole Ingredients for 4
- 3 medium-sized avocados (approximately 3 cups, chunked)
- ½ cup of cilantro, minced
- 1 cup of onions, diced
- ¼ cup of fresh jalapeños, minced
- ¼ cup pickled jalapeños diced
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 key lime
- salt to taste
- 1 tsp Mi Madre Pique Puerto Rican hot sauce or similar (something made with hot peppers, oil, and vinegar, preferably clear)
This hot sauce was so good we used up an entire bottle in a little less than a week.
Instructions Fiery Guacamole for 4
- Cut the avocado into large chunks and put aside
- Cut the key lime in half and squeeze over the avocado chunks
- Dice the onion and pickled jalapeños and add to the bowl with avocado and lime
- Mince the cilantro, garlic and fresh jalapeños and add to the bowl
- Add the Puerto Rican hot sauce (I like Madre).
- Mix ingredients thoroughly but not so much that there are no chunks of avocado.
- Add salt to taste.
Creamy guacamole combines perfectly with grilled steak and shrimp, or even grilled veggies.
Extra Tips and Serving Suggestions for Fiery Guacamole
- Don’t skimp on the lime, it really helps the avocado keep its color. Brown guacamole is less-than-appetizing.
- Live somewhere avocados are ridiculously expensive? Stretch guacamole by adding further vegetables like green peppers, fresh tomatoes, or even corn.
- Lower the calorie count in guacamole by using 1 cup blended zucchini per every two cups of avocado. You won’t be able to taste the difference, I promise.
- Serve with nachos, over a fresh green salad with goat cheese crumbles, with surf and turf, black beans and rice, or even as a sandwich spread or burger topper. When no one’s looking, I even eat it all by its lonesome, with a big serving spoon.
- Substitute green peppers for jalapeños and olive oil for hot oil or hot sauce for a milder guacamole.
- This recipe is gluten-free, vegan and super healthy. Avocados are a source of healthy monounsaturated fat, and vitamins C, K and B6
- Lemon or white vinegar can be substituted for lime in a pinch.
- With medium-sized avocados, the rule is one avocado per 2 people….or if they’re known avocado lovers, 1 avocado per person. The avocados I bought in P.R. fed two to three people, they were literally that huge and yes, I just sighed like a lovesick teenager. Those avocados were enough to make me consider moving across the Atlantic….again.
Grilled prawns, and skirt steak with alioli, guacamole, and goat cheese crumbles….eaten by the pool with views of a vivid green iguana, no less. – Chris Ciolli
